Essential Learning(s)
Student journalists will be able to create and publish accurate and thoughtful information which informs, entertains and/or persuades the audience.
Goals for the year
Student journalists will learn to:
1. Gather accurate information and facts through interviews, research and/or observation.
2. Write accurate and informative copy in the appropriate journalistic style: news, feature or opinion.
3. Use graphic design principles and techniques to engage audience.
4. Publish work using appropriate media -- via print, video or internet.
5. Meet deadlines consistently.
6. Work and collaborate well with others.
Successes
The Arapahoe Herald newspaper, the Calumet yearbook, the Calumet Too video yearbook -- and the student journalists who produce them -- have all won numerous awards on the state and national level.
Common Assessment(s) -- included here may be actual common assessments, examples of assessments or descriptions of assessments
Newspaper & Yearbook:
Each student will demonstrate the skills learned by creating a personal newspaper or yearbook spread with at least 2 pages.
Students will demonstrate their mastery of basic and advanced graphic design and layout skills and techniques.
Students will also demonstrate their mastery of journalistic writing styles and forms.
Each student will write and edit their own copy for the final product.
Newspaper students should include a straight news article in inverted pyramid style, as well as a feature article and a personal opinion column.
Yearbook students should write their copy and captions in the appropriate yearbook style. Plan your spread as a feature.
Each student must take at least two quality photos and use them in their project with appropriate cutlines/captions. One of the photos should be manipulated in Photoshop, while the other photo should be a photojournalistic candid shot. Inclusion of additional photos is certainly encouraged.
The final product should also include at least one sidebar using creative graphic design techniques.
Video Production:
Each student will demonstrate the skills learned by creating a 1 to 3 minute movie.
Each student must both shoot the footage and edit that footage to make the final product.
The movie must include interviews with the subject(s).
The movie must include a variety of camera angles and cinematographic techniques.
The final movie must include an audio soundtrack, smooth visual and audio transitions, title slides and credits.
The movie may also include special effects as appropriate.